National Scholarships and Awards

National Talent Search Scheme is a flagship activity of the NCERT started in the year 1963. The purpose of the scheme was to identify talented students and nurture their talent. The scheme, therefore, covers areas like Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law. It honours and helps talented students by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship.

Scholarships: On the basis of the examination conducted, 1000 scholarships will be awarded for each group of students appearing for Class VIII examinations.

Eligibility: Students of Class VIII studying in recognized schools are eligible to appear for test. Examination conducted by the States/ UTs in which the schools are located. There will be no domicile restriction.

Examination: The pattern of written examination for Class VIII will be as follows:

Stage I examination at the State/UT level will comprise two parts, namely (a) Mental Ability Test (MAT) and (b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics.

Stage II examination at the National level will comprise (a) Mental Ability Test (MAT), (b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics, (c) Interview. Only those candidates who qualify the written examination at the National Level will be invited for interview.

For complete details: www.ncert.nic.in/html/talent.htm

The National Council of Educational Research and Training under its National Talent Search Scheme, shall award 1000 scholarships including 150 scholarships for Scheduled Castes and 75 for Scheduled Tribes candidates each year. The purpose of this scheme is to identify brilliant students at the end of Class X and give them financial assistance towards getting good education, so that their talent may develop further and they may serve the discipline as well as the country.

Eligibility

All students studying in Class X in any type of recognized school including Kendriya Vidyalaya, Navodaya Vidyalaya, Sainik School etc. will be eligible to appear at the State Level Examination from the State in which the school is located. However, no domicile restriction shall be imposed.

How to Apply

The students studying in Class X in the country ought to be on the look out for any advertisement in the newspapers or circular in the school by the respective Government of their State/UT for the above said examination and act as per the requirement given in the State advertisement/circular.

Examination

State level examination may have two parts: Part-I Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Part-II Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) for nominating the required number of candidates for the second level test to be conducted by the NCERT.

For complete details: www.ncert.nic.in/html/talent.htm

National Bal Bhawan: Bal Shree programme:

The National Bal Bhawan has played a vital role in the promotion of Arts throughout the length and breadth of the country. Currently there are 73 state and district Bal Bhawans in the country. The National Bal Bhawan has instituted a system of honouring talented children in different age groups in the year 1995 through the Bal Shree scheme. The Chacha Nehru Scholarships for Artistic and Innovative Excellence will be available to children pursuing secondary and senior secondary education in classes IX – XII.

The Bal Shree programme recognizes talent in the following areas:

1. Creative Performance
2. Creative Arts
3. Creative Scientific Innovations
4. Creative Writing

The National Bal Bhawan makes a selection of creative children through activities conducted at three levels, viz:

1. Local level by organizing 2-day camps in which 8 children (2 in each stream) are identified at the local level.

2. Zonal Levels by organizing 3 days camps in which local experts, specialists from six zones, namely North, East, West, Central, South-I and South -II participate for selection of children

3. National Levels by organizing 4 day camps from the six zones in the country. A panel of experts and resource persons representing the four streams are identified to observe and assess the creativity of children.

For Complete information click here

The National Cyber Olympiad, the first of its kind in the country, is a nationwide talent search contest that will locate and identify cyber savvy talent amongst the younger generation. It is as much about creating awareness about computers by bringing in an element of challenge and competition as about inspiring the younger generation to enhance their knowledge and comprehension of issues related to computers and information technology and to test their aptitude for taking up a career in computers in the future.

Eligibility

Students studying in classes 3 to 12 in English medium schools affiliated with CBSE/ICSE and state boards can participate in the NCO. All students of Class 9 to 12 interested in pursuing careers in arts, commerce and science should participate since the competition aims to test the students' aptitude for computers.

For complete details: http://www.sofworld.org/html2003/intronco.shtml

The National Science Olympiad invites students from 3rd class onwards to participate and excel at national level.  The First Level of the test is conducted in the respective schools of the participants during the school hours. Only schools with a minimum participation of 50 students are allowed to register for the Olympiad.

Registration of Students: The event is open to the students of classes 3 to 12 and registrations will have to be sent through the respective schools in the prescribed pro-forma. Registration sheets for the school and the students are enclosed with the information booklets which are posted to the schools all over India.

For complete details: http://www.sofworld.org/html2003/htp.shtml

Mathematics Olympiad activity on a national level has been one of the National Board for Higher Mathematics (NBHM's) major initiatives since 1986. One of the main purposes of this activity is to spot mathematical talent among High School children. NBHM has also taken on the responsibility for selecting and training the India team for participating in the International Olympiad every year.

For the purpose of administering Olympiad contest, the country has been divided in 16 regions. The Olympiad Programme leading to India's participation in the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) consists of the following stages:

Stage 1: Regional Mathematics Olympiad (RMO): RMO is held normally between September and the first Sunday of December each year in different regions in the country. All school students of Class XI are eligible to appear for RMO. This Olympiad is a 3-hour written tests containing about 6 to 7 problems.

Stage 2: Indian National Mathematics Olympiad (INMO): INMO is held on the first Sunday of February each year at various centres in different regions. Only students selected on the basis of RMO from different regions are eligible to appear for INMO. INMO is a 4-hour written test; the question paper is set centrally and is common throughout the country. The top 30-35 performers in INMO receive a certificate of Merit.

Stage 3: International Mathematics Olympiad Training Camp (IMOTC): The UNMO certificates awardees are invited to a month long Training Camp in May/June each year. In addition, INMO awardesses of the previous year who have satisfactorily gone through postal tuition throughout the year are invited again to a second round of training. On the basis of a number of selection tests through the Camp, a team of the best six students is selected from the combined people of junior and senior batch participants to represent India in the International Mathematics Olympiad.

Stage 4: International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO): The six-member team selected at the end of the Camp accompanied by a leader and a deputy leader represent India at the IMO that is normally held in July in a different country. IMO consist of two 4-and-a-half hour written tests held on two days with a gap of at least one day. Travel to IMO venue and return takes about two weeks. Student of the India team who receive gold, silver and bronze medals at IMO receive from NBHM a cash prize of Rs. 5000/-, Rs. 4000/- and Rs. 3000/- respectively during the following year at a formal ceremony at the end of the Training Camp. MHRD finances international travel of the 8-member Indian delegation while NBHM (DAE) finances he entire in-country programme and takes care of other expenditure connected with international participation.

Syllabus for Mathematics Olympiad: the syllabus for mathematics Olympiads (regional, national and international) is pre-degree college mathematics. The difficulty level increases from RMO to INMO to IMO.

Mathematics Olympiads can be had from the following two books:

Mathematics Olympiad Primer, by V. Krishnamurthy, C.R. Pranesachar, K.N. Ranganathan and B.J. Venkatachala (Interline Publishing Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore).

Challenge and Thrill of Pre-College Mathematics, by V. Krishnamurthy, C.R. Pranesachar, K.N. Ranganathan and B.J. Venkatachala (New Age International Publishers, New Delhi)

For Complete details: http://math.iisc.ernet.in/matholym-nat.htm

The National Scholarship Scheme is being implemented since 1961-62. The objective of this Scheme is to provide scholarships for post-metric studies to the brilliant but poor students so that they can pursue their studies in spite of their poverty. The Scholarship Scheme for Talented Children from Rural Areas for Class VI to XII is an on-going scheme since 1971-72 with the objective to achieve equalization of educational opportunities. The schemes were implemented as Centrally Sponsored Schemes up to IX Plan. The Department has merged these schemes to form the ‘National Merit Scholarship Scheme’ for implementing. The Revised Scheme prescribes changes in the eligibility criteria and rate of scholarships etc.

For Complete information and application forms, please click here.